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California Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad
This creamy rich, California Avocado ranch chicken salad recipe is a delicious, easy, everyday dairy-free recipe, it is also Paleo, Keto and Whole30 compliant!
When it comes to easy meals on the go, for me, it always starts with quality protein and healthy fat. A meal that starts with these two staple macronutrients means more balanced blood sugar, adequate satiation and satisfaction levels and less of a need for all day snacking.
Whether you follow a paleo approach to your eating, keto or low carb, if you are simply focusing on a balance nutrient-dense, whole foods diet, this simple recipe can be made with leftover batch prepped shredded chicken or a roasted or rotisserie chicken and it’s great for prepping ahead for the week for easy quick lunches or even a quick breakfast option.
Serve on top of your favorite greens in California Avocado boats, on your favorite toasts or with crackers, however you want to enjoy it.
We love chicken salads for easy, fast meals. Most weeks I prep a few pounds of shredded chicken in the Instant Pot or we grab a rotisserie chicken at the market, this makes for fast meals and lots of versatility. You can also buy pre-cooked chicken, or make shredded chicken in a slow cooker with enough chicken broth to cover and cook it for 4 hours on low.
This California Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad features my easy-to-make, dairy-free avocado ranch dressing with California Avocados as the star of the show, bringing rich, creamy goodness without dairy or eggs. Best part, you can use this amazing California Avocado ranch dressing here in the chicken salad, or whip it up quickly and thin it out a bit to dress your favorite salad or leave it on the thicker side for a delicious dip for fresh veggies.
I love how quickly this can get put together with minimal ingredients and so much satiating and flavorful goodness.
California Avocado Ranch Dressing
gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, egg-free, nut-free, whole30, keto, AIPPrint Pin RateIngredients
- makes approx. 8oz dressing
- 1 Fresh California Avocado, seeded
- ¼ - ⅓ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk*
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon chives
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a food process or the butcher of a high speed blender. Start with the 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk, continuing to add more as needed to reach your desired consistency, you may want to add upwards of 1/2 cup for a thinner dressing. You can also use a hand-held immersion blender.
- Cover and refrigerate; eat within 3-5 days.
Notes
Recipe notes:
Add as much non-dairy milk or water to thin to your desired consistency
You can use fresh herbs in place of dried, I recommend approximately 1 tablespoon of each of the herbs. 1 small clove of garlic and 2 tablespoons fresh onion
Depending on your dietary preferences, to make your California Avocado Ranch dressing creamy like a traditional ranch dressing you can also add in 1/4 cup greek yogurt or 1/4 cup avocado oil mayonnaise
California Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad
gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, paleo, Whole30, Keto, AIPPrint Pin RateServings: 4 servingsIngredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced, chilled
- ¼ cup diced celery
- ¼ cup dice red onion
- ¾ cup California avocado ranch dressing, more or less to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the chicken, celery and onion to a medium mixing bowl. Add desired amount of avocado ranch and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve in California Avocado, on toast, over a salad or enjoy as is.
- Refrigerate, eat within 3-5 days.
This post is sponsored by the California Avocado Commission but all opinions are my own.
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15-Minute Paleo Taco Skillet Dinner
This 15-Minute Paleo Taco Skillet Dinner is ready in just about 15 minutes and it’s loaded with quality protein, fibrous leafy greens and if you top it with avocado, you’ll get some bonus healthy fats. A perfect, low-carb, one pan meal to please all!
I have been loving a good one-pan meal these days. Despite the, I am sure, blanket assumptions that when you don’t have kids, you have all the time in the world for meal planning, it can actually be quite hard, even still, in a child-free home. Without the forced structure and routines that comes with having little ones, we can often flail and have to just “make do”.
I am not that great at planning ahead some weeks and I am often not that methodical with our meal planning, so there are always staples that we have around, so there are always those staple-inspired meals. You know the ones – they aren’t all that glamorous and they are more about the function than the fashion.
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Zucchini Noodle and Meatball Frittata {Paleo}
I will never tire of zucchini. It’s 100% my spirit vegetable (is that a thing?). I am constantly dreaming up ways to incorporate zucchini noodles into unexpected places and since I always prefer to start my mornings with savory protein and healthy-fat rich breakfasts with a peekaboo of veggies, this frittata is the perfect weekend breakfast option or even better, it makes for an impressive brunch offering. But also let’s be real, if you are like me and you love the occasional breakfast for dinner, this just nails it!
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Turkey Club Chopped Salad with Aioli Vinaigrette {Paleo-friendly}
I have jokingly said this before, but I truly, deep down, really mean it. My husband has become somewhat of a muse for me in the kitchen. Or one of my muses I should say. First and foremost, from a heavily selfish place, my own autoimmune conditions, food intolerances and sensitivities are my biggest creative driving force when it comes to recipe development. I also, of course, find so much joy in creating for all of you and your varying dietary challenges and lifestyles. All that said, my husband happens to be one of those more and more rare specimens whom isn’t afflicted with any food allergies or issues. He’s a tank, he can eat anything and everything, he’s healthy as a horse and he generally doesn’t have to worry too much when it comes to food.
He is, as he says it “on the Beth plan”, at home, as I do all of the cooking and I generally don’t hear a complaint out of him. However, when we eat at restaurants some of his decision-making is so far askew from my own and how we eat at home, that I can (apparently) look at him like he has 3 heads, while he orders. It’s mostly a curiosity of how and why he would still want certain things after eating how we do, I am always curious how eating a bunch of starchy, grainy carbs before a meal can feel good, when he generally eats grain-free at home. I get it though, he didn’t exactly sign up to eat this way, it’s somewhat by default. But, I digress, I don’t give him
too muchshit, however I do take note. I take these opportunities to know that I can come home and recreate certain foods to be more healthful, to remove some unneeded processed foods and to hopefully win him over with an even better, cleaner version. It’s a game of sorts for me and the winner is always him. -
Kale and Quinoa Winter Chopped Salad with Pomegranate and Marcona Almonds
Lately I have seen quite a few posts online calling out other greens as “The New Kale” or “The Kale of 2016”. So wait – does this mean kale is out of style? Was kale ever in style? Can veggies be in vogue?
I think I am the wrong person to be talking about any of this, I would still be wearing my flannels, combat boots, chokers and overalls, if I didn’t have the little tiny bit of sense that I do have. Though, seemingly according to my trips to the mall during the holidays all of this is acceptable again. I have NO clue. All I do know is that kale is ALWAYS in my fridge, it’s a favorite around here and for me, it’s always in style.
Kale is a freakin’ nutritional powerhouse, so whether it’s cool or not, I am all about it. While I prefer my kale to be cooked, I do find it makes an amazing salad, when the tough leaves get a massage and it’s given a little time to marinate in the vinaigrette, to break down it’s fibrous nature. The flavor of the sometimes bitter kale mellows out, the texture becomes more palatable and it’s infused with the soft flavors of whatever dressing you choose.
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Warm Kale Salad with Roasted Fennel and Cranberry Meyer Lemon Salsa
‘Tis the season for sweets and treats, Christmas cookies and cocktails galore. You guys already know by now that I am one for balance and not setting such strict rules on yourself that you restrict everything completely and end up flailing around and ruining your lifestyle after one “slip up”. Balance and occasional indulging is important, especially during this special time of year. However, I am also someone that absolutely HAS to have my daily greens. It absolutely is not an option for me to skip out.
I believe a few treats here and there during the holidays can be a special indulgence without derailing all the special attention you give to your food, lifestyle and your health throughout the year. But, I also feel that just means it is more important than ever to make sure you are getting the good things. Nourishing, properly prepared, nutrient-dense foods – this is precisely the fuel our body needs to get through this hectic, and oftentimes stressful, time of year.
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Swiss Chard Wraps with Raw Walnut Taco “Meat” (Gluten-free and Vegan)
There are so many things to love about Southern California – the year-round beautiful weather, the sunshine, the incredible varying produce was have access to throughout the year, the beaches, mountains, hiking trails – I could go on and on. But, one of my very favorite things is that I can have a vegetable garden growing year round. I am not sure I will ever get used to that or ever take it for granted. When I was planting the seeds for my winter garden, I was convinced there was no way it would work. It seemed impossible to this New York girl. I am used to a growing season that lasts from May to, if you are lucky, October. And this is barring no major unseasonal frosts.
I planted a bunch of goodies from seeds right at the end of fall – peas, broccoli, leeks, carrots, radishes, lettuces, kale, spinach and Swiss chard. Not everything has grown perfectly, I am still learning what does well in my soil and what doesn’t, but my Swiss chard is one of the many that did amazing. Since we had a pretty hot and dry December and January, everything got off to a slow start. Then, suddenly one day, after my yoga teacher training program ended and I had been too busy to check on things all month, I went outside to see that everything had a major growth spurt, especially my beautiful chard.
I find Swiss chard to be so beautiful. Those leaves have that lovely contrasting, vibrantly colored stem and the surface of the leave is so perfect. It is so gorgeous growing out in my garden that I almost hate to pick it. Almost. Read the rest of this entry »
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Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Salad – Gluten-free + Vegan
With the start of fall I am fulling embracing all things fall-food related, pumpkin, squash, apples, etc. For my next post in my September series of recipes on the Free People blog BLDG 25, I am sharing a beautifully vibrant salad full of some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors. This spaghetti squash salad is so simple and so delightful, it is hard to believe that the entire thing is basically just veggies. If you haven’t yet experimented with a spaghetti squash, get on that ASAP, especially while they are in season.
While the beautiful colors outside are starting to show themselves and summer has all but faded away, this salad is a wonderful celebration of all of it. Embracing the last bit of summer with fresh local tomatoes and of course, the fall with the delicious and versatile spaghetti squash. This salad is great vegan or if you aren’t vegan or dairy-free, it is wonderful with a small bit of crumbled goat cheese feta over top.
This recipe was originally shared on the Free People blog, BLDG 25.
[print_this]Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Salad – Gluten-free + Vegan
serves 4-6
- 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 banana pepper (or bell pepper), diced
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives (or black olives), chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs, roughly chopped – I used a blend of oregano, mint and parsley
- 4 oz feta cheese (optional)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar or other sweetener
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, puncture a handful of holes all over the squash, on all sides, to keep it from bursting while baking.
Place the whole squash in a glass pan and bake for 1 hour, until the flesh is soft. Allow to cool until you can easily handle it and slice in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and fibrous strings from the center of the cooked spaghetti squash. Using a fork around the edge of the spaghetti squash, gently scrape to shred the pulp into strands. It will happen very easily. Place the spaghetti squash in a large serving bowl, and place in the fridge to cool.
Meanwhile, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Once the squash has cooled to about room temperature or colder (I just make the squash the night before, place it in the fridge to cool overnight and toss the salad together the next day), add all of the other ingredients to the squash and toss well to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine.
Serve topped with additional fresh herbs and some crumbled feta cheese, if you wish! [/print_this]
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Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables – Gluten-free + Vegan
Have you ever made a dish or a recipe for the first time and upon the very first bite, immediately wondered why you haven’t been making it for years? That’s what happened when I made socca for the first time! I had seen recipes here and there online and always thought in the back of my mind “I really need to make that”. I finally did yesterday for lunch and it is official, on the first bite – I was OBSESSED.
Socca, also known as farinata or cecina, is a sort of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour. Served hot and crispy, this chickpea pancake is a quintessential street food found in Nice, France. Many times it is browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, tender inside. From what I have read, traditionally it is made in a cast iron pan over hot coals or a fire, but it can certainly be made at home in a hot oven, either in a cast iron pan, cake pans or a pizza pan.
Most recipes I came across called for only about a cup of chickpea flour to make 1 big socca in a larger cast iron skillet or two smaller (about 7-inches each). Since I only have a smaller cast iron skillet and I was afraid I would ruin this on my first try, I decided to increase the ingredients to make it work in two 9-inch cake pans. Plus, I wanted to have two soccas and I also wanted them to be a bit thicker to hold up to the roasted veggies. It worked perfectly. If you have smaller cake pans or want to make one large one, or you want two and you want them a bit thinner, just go with 1 cup of chickpea flour and about 1 1/4 cups of water and maybe just 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Besides looking incredibly delicious, what really intrigued me about all of the socca recipes I found, were that almost all of them were naturally gluten-free, since the only flour used is chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour. I happened to have Bob’s Red Mill’s blend of Garbanzo and Fava Bean flours on hand, so I decided to go with that. It worked perfectly, but obviously if you have traditional chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour that will work, as well. I plan to make this again and again, now that I know how easy it is to make, so there will be plenty of times to use just chickpea flour.
The nice thing about socca is you can simply pop it out of the pan, cut it into wedges and eat it as is or you can play with different toppings and/or ingredients to include in the batter. Cut up into bite-sized pieces it is a great appetizer or snack for a handful of people, or you can top it with lots of fun ingredients and serve it flatbread or pizza style for a meal, kinda like this. I bet you could even opt for sweet ingredients like a little coconut sugar, some cinnamon and a little vanilla and make it a tasty dessert treat or brunch side. So versatile. I am sure traditionalists prefer to not add things like fresh herbs and olives, but I just couldn’t help myself.
This batter comes together very quickly, but you should allow it to rest a few hours before using, at the minimum 30-minutes. You can even make the batter ahead of time and cover it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Socca is meant to be thin and rustic, so don’t stress if yours breaks apart as you flip it out or try to cut it up, just eat it with your hands and enjoy every bit of it.
My adorable little lurker, Seri, trying to sneak a sniff of the warm socca!
[print_this]Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables – Gluten-free + Vegan
Adapted from many different recipes
Makes about two nine-inch soccas- 1 1/2 cups chickpea/garbanzo bean and fava bean flour blend (this is what I had on hand, you can use just chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour alone, which is the traditional way to make it)
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pans
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped (rosemary would also be good or any other fresh herb of your choice)
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Roasted Vegetable Topping
2-3 cups roasted in-season vegetables of your choosing (or any other topping of your choice)
I just roasted a bunch of fresh asparagus, 1 cup of sliced mushrooms, 1 poblano pepper, 1 garlic clove and 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of Herbes de Provence and a little sea salt, in a 425º oven for about 20-25 minutes, until tender and lightly browned. Feel free to top your socca with whatever toppings of your choice or just serve it as is.In a large bowl, sift in the chickpea flour, then add in the salt, and pepper. Whisk in water and olive oil. Then stir in the basil. The batter should be very thin, much like a crepe batter. Let sit on the counter, covered, for as many hours as possible, but at least 30 minutes. You can also cover and refrigerate it overnight.
Place two nine-inch round cake pans in the center of the oven and preheat to 500º F. Remove the pans when the oven is to temperature, add a glug of olive oil to each pan (maybe around 1/2 to 1 tablespoon in each pan) swirl around in the pan to get a nice even coating all the way around and up the sides a bit. Return to pans the oven for a couple of minutes to heat up the oil. Once the oil is heated up, carefully remove the hot pans from the oven and pour half of the batter into each pan, split the chopped up olives in half and add half to each pan, just sprinkle over top of the batter. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes or until the pancake is firm and the edges are set. Then place the pans into the broiler (or turn on the broiler in your oven) and broil for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the top gets some nice browned/black spots. Remove from oven and carefully flip out onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and top with toppings of your choice. This is great as a meal or as an appetizer. If your pancake is a little thinner and it’s breaking apart, no worries at all, this snack is meant to be rustic and eaten with your fingers.
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Sprouted Quinoa Salad with Mango, Black Beans and Avocado – Gluten-free + Vegan
Phew! Life has been a bit busy lately. We’re still trying to get caught up on all the work we have going on right now. Between being away from the studio for 2 weeks and with how much client work we have booked, we’ve really been putting in the hours. We also spent the weekend painting the downstairs here at the house, getting it ready to sell. OK, well actually we had a friend here doing most of the painting while we worked on client work, but I helped for a handful of hours on Sunday! We also spoke at the State University at Fredonia on Monday night, to final-year design and print making students, which was really, really fun. On top of all of this, I have been trying to get to yoga every morning for my 90-minute practice. I have had to miss a day here and there, but when life is busy, it is when I need it the most.
The last week and a half actually seems a little bit like a blur. So, I have been trying to sneak time into the kitchen here and there, when I can, but it is proving to be a bit difficult right now. Last week, besides the delicious Baingan Bharta that I made, I made a HUGE pot of vegetable soup and I also made a version of this delicious gluten-free flatbread with roasted vegetables from Karina, the Gluten-Free Goddess. I basically lived off of those meals and that worked fine, but now I am ready for life to calm down a bit, so I can start playing with new recipes!
I am hoping to have some time this weekend to play around with some gluten-free, vegan waffle recipes and I am also thinking of making a fun new dessert treat, similar idea to the coconut dark chocolate treats that I made and everyone has been loving so much! Plus, I have been dreaming of a pie recipe, that I just need to find the time to actually make. So look for those recipes, hopefully really soon, and definitely some others, too.
In the meantime, I made this salad for lunch today and I was really glad that I made the time to do so. It was super simple and a really nice bright and fresh spring meal. I happened to have sprouted quinoa that I had picked up at the market, but any regular quinoa would do. I also ended up topping this salad with avocado when I served it. I forgot about the avocado when I took the photos, but it was a perfect addition. You could also add in some red bell pepper if you have some on hand or fresh corn, etc. If you don’t want a little spice, skip the jalapeño or just start with half of one.
The weather is starting to really warm up here, but more than the temperature, the biggest change in this time of year that I absolutely adore is the sunshine. I miss the sunshine during the winter months and it is my favorite part of the spring. Salads like this feel like the perfect light meal to eat when the sun is shining!
What have you been eating lately? Have you had a lot of time in your kitchen or has life been hectic?
[print_this]Sprouted Quinoa Salad with Mango, Black Beans and Avocado – Gluten-free + Vegan
serves 4-6- 2 cups cooked organic sprouted quinoa
- 1 mango, diced
- 1 cup of canned organic black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cucumber, quartered the long way, then sliced
- 1 cup organic cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, minced
- 3-4 scallions, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
Dressing
- juice from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- zest from 1/2 lime
- salt and pepper, to taste
Cook the quinoa according to package directions. After it is cooked, fluff the quinoa with a fork and set aside to cool.
While the quinoa is cooling, mix the dressing in a small bowl, whisk well to combine.Once the quinoa is cooled, toss it with the mango, black beans, cucumber, tomatoes, jalapeño, green onions and cilantro. Drizzle the dressing over top the salad, and toss gently to evenly coat. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the salad at room temperature or chilled topped with a small sprinkle of sliced green onions and fresh cilantro, as well as some diced avocado on top, if you wish.
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Gluten-free + Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf
Hey guys, sorry it was a bit quiet on here last week, we were getting ready for and working our (Hero Design Studio) Pop-Up Shop over the weekend. It went super well and I can’t wait to share some photos from the event with you guys. I am a bit behind on recipe posting from being so busy last week, so look for lots of new recipes this week!
I am super duper excited to not only share this new recipe with you, but to also be the guest blogger at Healthful Pursuit today! If any of you follow me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, you will probably remember my extreme excitement about 2-weeks ago when I finally got this Lentil “Meat” Loaf recipe right. I had messed around with a few different versions, but no matter how delicious my loaves tasted, they just didn’t want to stay together, they ended up being a crumbly, sloppy mess on the plate when I would serve them. I finally got it figured out and I couldn’t wait to share it with anyone who would listen, it’s that good.
When Leanne, from Healthful Pursuit, contacted me to share a recipe on her blog with her readers while she is on an incredible trip to India, I was in the middle of experimenting with this recipe, so I knew this was the one to share. Plus, knowing it would be out there in front of even more people, it gave me an even more incentive to try to get it right and perfect.
Leanne’s blog has always been one of my favorites, I found her through her comments on my blog about a year ago and I was always so inspired by what she was making in her own kitchen. In addition to having a similar approach to health and well-being as I do, as a Holistic Nutritionist, Leanne, also has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to foods, eating and our health. Finding Healthful Pursuit brought a wonderful new breath to my cooking and has affirmed all of my decisions about food. I promise after just one visit to HP, you too will be adding it to your bookmarks.
This Lentil “Meat” Loaf pretty much sums up so many of my feelings for food. It is healthy, comforting, satisfying and you won’t feel like you are missing out on a thing when you eat it. It is hearty without being heavy and it is packed full of foods that are great for you. In addition to all of that, the most important thing to me is that it stayed together when I sliced it and it looks beautiful, instead of a lumpy pile on the plate 🙂
This lentil loaf is almost a little meaty and is sure to satisfy even the meatiest of meat-lovers in your family, I promise. My hubby, Mark, LOVED it. He even made up a song for it. Reheat a slice or two of this loaf up in a cast iron skillet to get it a little toasted on the outside and toss it on your favorite gluten-free (or not) bread, with a little more BBQ sauce and some pickled red onions for a delicious “meat” loaf sandwich. The perfect hearty and healthy lunch.
In addition to the loaf, I also made a delicious and spicy vegan BBQ sauce to go on top. You could certainly use your favorite store bought BBQ sauce, but I urge you to try making your own, even if just one time. It is much easier than you think, you can skip all the gross refined sugar or corn-syrup laced store brands and you can tweak the ingredients to have a taste that is all your own. My BBQ sauce is a tad bit spicy (you can make it as spicy as you’d like), a little tangy and just a tad bit sweet. I love it.
This recipe was originally shared on Healthful Pursuit.
[print_this]Gluten-Free and Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf
Makes about 8 slices2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
6 tablespoons boiling water
2 cups cooked green lentils, cooled and split into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup
1 cup mushrooms, diced
2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, split in half
1/2 cup almond flour
3/4 cup spicy vegan BBQ sauce (see below)Preheat the oven to 375º. Add the ground flax seeds to a small bowl, pour the boiling hot water over and stir to combine well. Set aside and allow it to thicken and cool.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5-8 minutes until the onions are tender. Add in the mushrooms and cook another 3 to 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender, add in the thyme and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Add in 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, stir to combine and turn off the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, if it needs it.
Process 1 1/2 cups of the cooked lentils and1/2 cup of the oats in the food processor until smooth (some whole bits may remain, that’s ok). Spoon the mixture into a large bowl, add in the remaining lentils and oats, plus the flax “egg”, almond flour and vegetable mixture. Stir really well to combine. Then get your hands in there, just like you would with a regular meat loaf or meatballs, and make sure it is mixed and mashed together really well.
Spoon the mixture into a parchment paper lined 9″ x 5″ loaf pan, (leave a bit of the parchment paper hanging over so you can easily lift the loaf out when it is cooked). Using your hands, you really want to press it in good. Brush on the remaining 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce over the top.
Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes at 375º. Cool in the pan for about 5, pull the loaf out by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper and lifting up and allow it to cool for another 5 to 10 minutes on a cooking rack. Slice and serve.[/print_this]
[print_this]Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce
Makes about 1 quart of sauce1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon celery seed
24-ounce jar of strained (or crushed) tomatoes (or a 28-ounce can)
7-ounce jar of tomato paste (or a 6-ounce can)
2 tablespoons Sriracha (if you don’t like spicy, you can skip this, add less or use just a pinch of two of red pepper flakes instead)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons liquid smokeHeat olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion is slightly tender, add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine, reduce the heat to a medium-low and allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Taste the sauce and make sure you don’t want more of anything, you may want it more sweet, spicy, sour, salty. I like my BBQ sauce tangy and smoky, so I added another 1/4 cup of vinegar and another teaspoon of liquid smoke. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a few minutes, then puree until smooth in the food processor or blender.[/print_this]
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Smashed Potato Puffs
I didn’t get a chance to get on here Thanksgiving Day to wish you all a Happy Day, like I had planned but I was cooking away in the kitchen and watching the parade, the dog show and football! I hope all of my American readers had an incredible day surrounded by people they love most and filled with delicious and tasty fresh foods made with so much love and care. If you aren’t in the US – I hope you have a beautiful Thursday, still!
Our day was perfect, I spent the day cooking in my kitchen and relaxing with hubby, we really needed a day like that, then we headed to my parents to see a ton of family for dessert. It is going to be an insane few weeks coming up so I was very happy to have the perfect balance of a quiet and calm day, with a bit of the usual holiday fare with the extended family.
Of course the best part of making a big feast for 2, is that we have a ton of leftovers. This is so perfect since we are leaving on Friday of this coming week to head to Chicago – so finding time to cook is probably going to be tough. Besides just reheating things, I plan to come up with all kinds of fun and creative ways to eat up the leftovers. This morning I saw a post on the Kitchn with this very topic – lots of great and delicious ways to eat up those leftovers! One of the hardest things to just simply reheat are the mashed potatoes, they are never as creamy and delicious as they are that night! You could certainly make a shepherd’s pie with them or potato pancakes of some sort, which I had planned on doing until I saw this post. The Kitchn had this delicious recipe for Mashed Potato Puffs that caught my eye instantly. Their puffs included ham and cheese, though this was a bit too rich for me after the two days of eating that I just had, so I skipped the cheese and ham and just added a small amount of turkey and some fresh chives from my garden. If you had a vegetarian Thanksgiving, these would still be equally as delicious without any meat at all. These adorable little puffs were super simple to put together and ready in 20 minutes. We had ours for breakfast and we put the leftovers in the fridge for either a side dish or another breakfast. They were puffy, had a slight crisp on the outside and were perfectly soft and creamy inside. I almost always make my mashed potatoes as garlic smashed potatoes, which I add a smidge of Nancy’s Organic Cultured Cream Cheese to for a little bit of creamy and tart flavor. I make my smashed potatoes with red potatoes, leaving the skins on – so my puffs were a bit more rustic and chunky than the original recipe, which I really liked. They can stick a bit when coming out of the muffin tin, at least they did for me, so make sure you grease your tin, even if it is non-stick. I personally didn’t care about that little bit of sticking – they were delicious regardless.
Well we’re off to the country to cut down our Christmas tree today and then to walk around beautiful Elicottville to really get even more into the Christmas mood! I cannot wait!
Tomorrow I plan to make a gluten-free turkey pot pie with some of the leftovers and I am going to cook down the bones to make a turkey stock for soup. What are you making with your leftovers?
Smashed Potato Puffs
makes between 12 and 24 puffs, depending the size of the pan used
Adapted from The Kitchn2 cups leftover smashed (or mashed) potatoes
3 large farm fresh brown eggs, beaten
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1/4 cup shredded leftover turkey (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to tasteHeat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease the cups of a regular muffin tin or a mini-muffin tin.
Whisk together the smashed potatoes, eggs, chives, and turkey. Taste and season, if necessary, with salt and pepper.
Put a spoonful of the mixture in each muffin cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the potato cups are set, browned on top, and hot through and through. Serve immediately. -
Chickpea, Tomato & Feta Salad
Now that we work from home, I love lunch time. My lunches at the store used to consist of leftovers or veggie burgers, even though I still eat and love both of those, a lot of days I can have more fun creating healthy lunches. Especially with my vegetable garden in full-force, I can just hop into the back yard, grab some lettuce and/or cucumbers, fresh herbs, etc and toss together a quick salad.
I saw a delicious recipe, a while back, for a Chickpea, Spinach & Feta Salad, on my friend Margaux’s blog that she keeps with her aunt, Sweet & Savory Kitchens. I couldn’t wait to play around with my own version. Such a simple, quick and healthy salad, why haven’t I been making this every single week?
I decided to use what I had on hand, so I cut up some red onion, a whole tomato, a roasted red pepper, some fresh oregano, etc and it was that easy. An incredible lunch salad in minutes. I served mine over some romaine lettuce, you could also add chopped up lettuce, spinach or other leafy vegetables like kale or arugula directly to the salad when mixing. Cucumbers would also be delicious. In Margaux and Aunt Suzy’s original recipe they included cooked broccoli which sounds like a tasty, crunchy addition. I think like most salads, the possibilities are endless with this one. This is definitely going to be a staple in my house at lunchtime and as a side at dinner. This would make a delicious dish to share at a picnic or party and with all of the beautiful colors, it’ll definitely impress everyone.
Chickpea, Tomato & Feta Salad
adapted from Sweet and Savory KitchensThe Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Salt and black pepper to tasteThe Salad
1 large or two small cans of chickpeas (about 3 cups cooked)
1 large tomato, diced
1 large roasted pepper, diced
1/2 large (or 1 small) red onion, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, or more to tasteAdd all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl, whisk thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas if using canned. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a bowl, except the feta cheese. Add the dressing and gently stir to thoroughly blend. Add the cheese and stir again to blend.
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Citrus Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds
I have sung quinoa’s praises many, many times on this blog, so I think you know by now how I feel about it. It really is a super food and incredibly versatile. This salad caught my eye while I was searching the web last week, looking at recipes. I couldn’t wait to make it as a side for dinner and to enjoy the leftovers throughout the week for lunch. I ended up doubling the recipe so we had extra for leftovers.
This salad has a bright and sunny taste to it and it was the perfect side with the grilled pork steaks from Sojourner Farms that we were making. It was even more perfect being that it finally warmed up a bit here. It was a balmy 42º when we were getting ready to start dinner last night and rather than heating up the oven and cooking inside, we decided it would be the perfect night to fire up the grill. Honestly, it felt a bit like a heat-wave, it has been such a brutal and frigid winter here. I am actually calling “Uncle” on the 2010/11 Winter season, officially here and now! I am done, I want to see the sun, some lovely flower buds and the beautiful green grass and trees. We have been buried since early December in so many feet of snow. Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow and I still, after all these years of living here, get excited with each and every flake that falls and even the major storms, but this year I have hit my limit. Thankfully Spring is just around the corner and with the Spring comes more green and more fresh produce, which I am equally missing.
Oranges and other citrus are in season right now, but I have never been a big orange eater. However, I have been trying out different types of oranges and tangerines and I am liking them more each time, I particularly like them in dishes instead of just plain. The tangerines in this salad were perfectly juicy and sweet but not too overpowering. You could certainly use your citrus of choice, oranges would be just as good. The fresh scallions and parsley were both perfect, I changed the original recipe a bit by adding garlic and adding a bit more sriracha, since I like spicy, though even with increasing the sriracha it was still a very subtle spiciness, not intense by any stretch of the imagination. This salad is best served room temperature and it was perfect with the grilled pork and green beans with pine nuts that I also made. This salad was great as a side, but would also be great as the main dish or an appetizer. Additionally, it would be a nice vegan dish to bring to a party. If you double the recipe as I did, just top each individual serving with the toasted almonds and keep them on the side, this way they won’t lose that lovely crunch by sitting in the fridge with the salad. Just top each serving individually as you serve them.
Citrus Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds
Serves 4
adapted from Cooking with Amy1 tangerine, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks (remove as much of the membranes as you can)
1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed well
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for serving
1/2 lemon, preferably organic
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
1/2 tablespoon sriracha, or more to taste
2 tablespoons thinly sliced toasted almondsToast your almond slices ahead of time and set aside.
Rinse the quinoa thoroughly, then toast it in a dry medium saucepan, over medium heat for a few minutes until it is fragrant.
Add the water and salt to the quinoa, and bring to a boil over a high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Spread the quinoa out on a baking sheet to cool to room temperature quicker, while you prepare the salad.
Before cutting the lemon, finely grate the zest and then squeeze the juice into a large serving bowl. Add the olive oil, garlic, scallions, parsley and sriracha. Once the quinoa has cooled and is room temperature add in the quinoa and tangerine pieces, season to taste with salt and top with almonds and a bit of fresh parsley just before serving.
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Sweet Potato with Pomegranate, Coconut and Lime
This was today’s lunch and wow what a treat. I almost always bring lunch to work, usually leftovers from whatever I had made the night prior or a simple salad, etc. Today I decided to try something a little different. It required a bit more planning and assembling, but it was definitely worth the extra work. I deseeded the pomegranate at home and premeasured out the coconut milk, shredded coconut and cilantro. I packed those up with a whole lime, a raw sweet potato, a nice plate and a fork and knife. When lunch rolled around, I pierced the potato and tossed it in the microwave, when it was cooked I just topped it with all the goodies and enjoyed it! It was pretty nice for a lunch at the studio and it felt good to eat off a real porcelain plate with real silverware, and on top of all of this, it was absolutely delicious. Far better than I could have imagined. I am not always a fan of fruit with savory dishes, but there are many exceptions to this and more often than not lately, I find I end up liking the fruit and can’t imagine the dish without it. This is how the pomegranate seeds were for me in this dish, I was a little unsure but very excited to try it out. They were perfect, so bright and so much flavor. The coconut taste was perfect and the lime and cilantro finished it all off very nicely. You could easily make 4 of these for a delicious side-dish for dinner.
For cleanse day 3, I have to say I am eating really well and I don’t feel deprived of a thing. I am already feeling less weighed down and sluggish, too. I am so glad I decided to do this cleanse. I have been trying to really experiment with new things on this cleanse and today (admittedly) was the first time I ever deseeded a pomegranate. Not sure why I never have before, I guess because I thought I didn’t know how. It was simple and now I will be buying them all the time since they are in season.
Sweet Potato with Pomegranate, Coconut and Lime
Serves 1
1 sweet potato
2 tablespoons organic coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened organic coconut, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
Fresh lime juice from half a limeBaking the sweet potato in the oven: Preheat oven to 400º. Pierce the sweet potato all over with a fork, place on a baking sheet and bake until tender, approximately 35-45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Baking the sweet potato in the microwave: Prick the potato in 5 or 6 places with a fork. Place on microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 6 minutes, turn over and microwave another 6 minutes. Let cool slightly. (time will vary based on your microwave oven and the size of the potato)
Slice the potato in half and slightly mash with a fork. Top with coconut milk, shredded coconut, chopped cilantro, and pomegranate seeds. Squeeze lime juice over top. You can add a light sprinkle of kosher salt if you wish (I left this off since I am on a cleanse).
